Shloka 37

Devanagari script

ततो5भवच्चतुर्मूर्ति: क्षणेन भगवान्‌ प्रभु:

Transliteration

tato 'bhavac caturmūrtiḥ kṣaṇena bhagavān prabhuḥ

Translation

Rồi trong khoảnh khắc, Đấng Chúa Tể—bậc Chủ quyền tối thượng—hiển lộ thành bốn thân, phô bày thần lực vượt ngoài tri giác thường tình, nhắc người nghe rằng quyền năng rốt ráo nằm ngoài mọi mưu lược của con người giữa cơn biến loạn chiến trường.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from/then')

• अभवत्: became/was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• चतुर्मूर्तिः: four-formed one
• चतुर्मूर्तिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुर्मूर्ति
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• क्षणेन: in an instant
• क्षणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, तृतीया, एकवचनम्

• भगवान्: the Blessed Lord
• भगवान्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भगवत्
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

• प्रभुः: the master/lord
• प्रभुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु
• Form: पुंलिङ्गः, प्रथमा, एकवचनम्

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• bhagavān (the Lord)
• prabhu (the sovereign Lord)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the immediacy and supremacy of divine power: the Lord can assume multiple forms at will, suggesting that behind the visible events of the war operates a higher, transcendent agency that can reveal itself suddenly.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana reports that the Lord instantly becomes “four-formed,” indicating a sudden divine manifestation (a theophany) occurring within the unfolding events of the Śalya Parva episode.